WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, Democracy Defenders Fund (DDF) submitted a series of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to the federal government seeking records of any communications between top leadership at the Department of Justice (DOJ) relating to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, including discussions of how department officials should address references to Donald Trump or Mar-a-lago in any files. The records request, which builds on a series of FOIAs filed by DDF last week, follows reporting that Attorney General Pam Bondi informed President Trump earlier this year that his name appeared in the Epstein files.

In the filing, DDF requests  records that would provide insight on the role senior DOJ officials including Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, FBI Director Kash Patel and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, have played in the Trump-Epstein debacle.

“It is now widely reported that President Trump is indeed included in the Epstein files, and that he knows it. That makes our request for these records more urgent than ever,” said Amb. Norm Eisen (ret.), executive chair of Democracy Defenders Fund. “The Epstein files must be released and there must be transparency as to which DOJ officials have been involved. The American people deserve the truth—not a government willing to refashion our democracy to shield one man from accountability.”

The organization is also requesting communications, correspondence, or documents listing or containing the identities of people who were clients or associates of Jeffrey Epstein, including any documents listing or containing the identities of people who were invited to Epstein’s properties, including invitations, calendar schedules, and flight logs.

Last week, Republican leadership in the House of Representatives recessed early to avoid a vote that  would force the Trump administration to release all federal files on the Epstein investigations, making DOJ’s prompt response to DDF’s request all the more necessary.

The FOIAS were sent on an expedited basis and can be viewed here.

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Democracy Defenders Fund brings together a nonpartisan team to work with national, state, and local allies across the country to defend in real-time the foundations of our democracy.